BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - Consumption of auto fuels, including diesel and gasoline, is expected to hit 150-170 mln tons in 2010, Liu Ming, a senior economist with the State Information Center, said at an oil conference.
China produced 181 mln tons of crude oil last year, up 19.7 pct year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Liu said the projection was based on rapid growth in auto ownership.
He said China's auto demand is expected to hit seven mln units in 2006, including 4.2-4.3 mln passenger vehicles, with future demand growth to average 13.8 pct annually to 11 mln units by the end of 2010, he said.
In 2005, China produced 5.7 mln autos, up 12.1 pct.
Liu said China needs to explore diesel technologies and alternative energy sources like ethanol.
Last week, the official Xinhua news agency quoted vice premier Zeng Peiyan as saying that the government should speed up the development of alternative energy and encourage efforts in liquefied coal, bio-diesel, marsh gas, solar energy, wind power, and hydropower in order to reduce consumption of coal and oil imports.
He added that the country should launch a fuel tax as soon as possible, and attributed the delay in such a launch to the country's inability to establish an oil product pricing mechanism that reflects true market supply and demand.
kelly.zang@xfn.com
zachary.wei@xfn.com
© 2006 AFX News
